Her Majesty the Queen v. A.D.H.

Her Majesty the Queen v. A.D.H.

Her Majesty the Queen v. A.D.H. (October 11, 2012)
Case # 34132

This appeal concerns the issue of unlawful child abandonment. The respondent, A.D.H., was charged with unlawfully abandoning a child so that the child’s life was likely to be endangered.
The baby was born in a washroom at a Wal Mart store. A.D.H. did not know she was pregnant at the time. She did not think that the baby was alive when she quickly delivered it in the washroom toilet and then left the store. Management at the store called the emergency response team and the baby was transported to hospital where it was successfully resuscitated. The trial judge found, based on the expert evidence, that the birth was a precipitous birth and that A.D.H. did not know she was pregnant. It was revealed that the baby was born at least a month premature. A.D.H. cooperated fully with the police
and confirmed that she was the mother of the child.